Lena Dunham is widely recognized for her work, but she remains best known for creating and starring in the HBO comedy-drama series Girls. The show brought her critical acclaim as well as considerable backlash. Now, Dunham has once again defended the series, invoking two iconic television characters to make her point.
Lena Dunham invokes Walter White and Tony Soprano
According to Variety, Dunham recently attended an event at New York City’s Swarovski store on Thursday evening. During the appearance, she discussed her career and her work on Girls with co-star Allison Williams.
Although audiences have both praised and criticized the series, Dunham said she continues to be surprised by people’s responses to it. The conversation then took an interesting turn. She compared the criticism of Girls with the reception of characters such as Walter White and Tony Soprano.
“We are not used to the way people feel about the show now. It’s a daily surprise,” Dunham said.
“I was saying that when the show came out, the way that people talked about our behavior — I was like, ‘People are angrier at us for just being girls who sometimes give hand jobs on TV than they are Walter White or Tony Soprano,’” she added.
Tony Soprano from The Sopranos and Walter White from Breaking Bad remain two of television’s most recognizable antiheroes. Both characters engage in morally questionable and often violent behavior, yet their stories attracted substantial audience interest. James Gandolfini portrayed Tony Soprano, while Bryan Cranston played Walter White.
The HBO comedy-drama Girls premiered on April 15, 2012, and concluded on April 16, 2017. It ran for six seasons and 62 episodes.
Set in New York City, the series follows four women in their twenties as they navigate career struggles, complicated relationships, and the challenges of adulthood. The cast included Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, and Adam Driver.
